Gary Sargent, a full-blooded Native American Chippewa, turned down a contract offer from the Minnesota Twins and football scholarships from U.S. colleges to become a hockey player.

He was a first team all-star and league MVP at Bemidji State University in the 1972-73 season. This year also saw him join the USA National Team where he collected five points in seven games. The next season saw him join the Fargo Moorheads of the Midwest Junior League where he had 83 points in only 47 games. Sargent was then selected to the United States junior team for the first unofficial World Junior Championships in Leningrad, USSR, in 1974. He had two assists in the three games in the tournament but gained a solid reputation from scouts in the NHL.

Sargent was selected by the Los Angeles Kings 48th overall in the 1974 Amateur Draft. After a season in the minors, where he began with 24 points in 27 games, he was sidelined by a knee injury. He joined L.A for the 1975-76 season and played in 63 games collecting 24 points. The next season saw Sargent represent his country once again, this time in the Canada Cup. He rejoined the Kings and had his most productive season with 54 points.

After another season with L.A., Sargent signed as a free agent with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978. During his first year with the North Stars, he sustained a back injury that would plague him for the rest of his career. After five seasons in Minnesota and numerous operations on his back and knees, Sargent retired after the team lost in the playoffs to the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983.

Sargent finished his career with 222 points in 402 games and went on to scout for the Los Angeles Kings.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1972-73

Bemidji State University

NAIA

30

23

24

47

1972-73

United States

WEC-B

7

1

4

5

0

1973-74

Fargo-Moorhead Sugar Kings

MWJHL

47

37

46

83

78

1973-74

United States

WJC-A

3

0

2

2

0

1974-75

Springfield Kings

AHL

27

7

17

24

46

1975-76

Los Angeles Kings

NHL

63

8

16

24

36

-3

1976-77

United States

Can-Cup

5

0

0

0

2

1976-77

Los Angeles Kings

NHL

80

14

40

54

65

+7

9

3

4

7

6

1977-78

Los Angeles Kings

NHL

72

7

34

41

52

+18

2

0

0

0

0

1978-79

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

79

12

32

44

39

-10

1979-80

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

52

13

21

34

22

+12

4

2

1

3

2

1980-81

Minnesota North Stars

DN-Cup

3

0

0

0

2

1980-81

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

23

4

7

11

36

-1

1981-82

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

15

0

5

5

18

+5

1982-83

Minnesota North Stars

NHL

18

3

6

9

5

+5

5

0

2

2

0

NHL Totals

402

61

161

222

273

20

5

7

12

8

First Team NAIA All-American (1973)

Signed as a free agent by Minnesota, June 30, 1978. Los Angeles received Rick Hampton, Steve Jensen and Dave Gardner as compensation.